Short Stories

I find short stories the perfect format to explore an idea or vignette in more depth. The following have been published so far:

My most recent and favourite story (so far!) is “The Prisoner of Dorian Gray”, a dark, scientific take on the Oscar Wilde fable, based on an idea first developed with The Mechanisms. It was published on The Mechanisms website in November 2016:

“Orpheus, Dionysus, Muriatic Acid and the Strange Whirring Thing” was written alongside The Mechanisms’ Dieselpunk Noir album Ulysses Dies at Dawn, set in a world where the Greek myths are played out against the backdrop of a dystopian mechanised city where death is both illegal and impossible. It was first published in the “Fiction” section of the Mechanisms website in 2013, and was featured as the monthly short story on the Stand Up Tragedywebsite in November 2014.

“Orpheus and Narcissus go on a Trip to the Seaside” is a prequel to the previous story, exploring the friendship between Orpheus and Narcissus and delving deeper into Narcissus’ character. It was published in the “Fiction” section of the Mechanisms website in 2014 and acted as the inspiration for the song “Narcissus Under the Knife“.

“The Girl in the Dress“, a tale of lost chances and missed connections surrounding a mysterious girl in Victorian dress spotted every morning from the bus, was aired as a dramatic reading as part of Brum Radio’s Tall Tales series in 2016, and can be listened to in podcast form here: